Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Students with Disabilities Inclusion in Nursing Education in the United Arab Emirates

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of nursing education stakeholder of the inclusion of students with disabilities in nursing education programs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and barriers to their inclusion. A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was used. Data was collected using unstructured interviews and questionnaires. Thematic analysis of the interviews with seven nursing education stakeholders revealed the following barriers to the inclusion of nursing students with disabilities: (1) Nature of disability, (2) knowledge of nursing faculty, (3) attitudes, (4) communication, (5) resources, (6) nursing program requirements, (7) admission and support policies, and (8) disability outreach activities. In total, 284 nursing education students and 29 nursing education faculty members from health science academic institutions in Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Al-Ain, and Al Dhafra in the UAE completed the questionnaires. The descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the responses of nursing education faculty members and nursing education students was performed using SPSS software. The findings showed that both educators and students had concerns regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities. However, implementing facilitators and overcoming barriers can enhance the accessibility of nursing students with disabilities to nursing education programs. The findings also showed significant differences in the perception of nursing students and faculty of inclusion concerning their interactions with students with disabilities and having completed a course about individuals with disabilities.